The thugs are helpful, but I find Dwayne kind of irritating. He complains too much. Just ask him to go drinking, but do "Cluckin Bell/Bowling/Comedy Club/Nightclub in Northwood" once or twice and you should be close to 100% with him. Then you can ignore him for a long time.

I thought it was kind of silly that the last safehouse you get (Alderny) is so bad compared to the one at Middle Park West and Playboy X's.

However, being close to an unlimited supply of NRG900RR's, Sultan RS's, and unwatched Cop Cars does help make up for that a bit.

NRG900's- Dealership on the NW corner of the intersection of Lynden and Boyden. Few blocks north of Panhandle Road. Automatic 1 star wanted level, but it's easily outrun. There's usually one NRG900RR in the shop, along with several NRG900F's. The RR seems to have a little more get up and go. You'd think they would recognize you after jacking a half-dozen of them, but they don't.

Unguarded Cop Cars- By the Park where Derrick McReary is usually strung out. NW corner of Lee and Vitullo. The cops are rarely by the cars. I've never gotten a level for stealing one there unless I didn't notice a cruiser driving by.

Sultan RS- NE corner of the Alderney map. The entrance is on the East side of Beaverhead, just north of the Burger Shot. Follow the middle dirt road as far North as you can. There's a garage by the abandoned mansion. Sultan RS is in the grass behind the garage. It's where you drop off the truck you steal from the Triad for Phil Bell. Great car in a street race.

All of these respawn, AFAICT.

__________________
No matter how cynical you are, it is impossible to keep up. -Lily Tomlin

I'd rather be a climbing monkey than a falling angel. -Terry Pratchett

LIBERTY CITY—With the city in the midst of a record crime wave, concerned citizens claim the Liberty City Police Department has done little to prevent the constant car chases, ongoing gun battles, and overall atmosphere of violence that pervade the area.

"I used to feel safe in Liberty City, but lately, it's been total mayhem," said night-shift worker Lola Del Rio, who spoke to reporters while sucking nervously on a red lollipop. "In the past week alone, I've been carjacked twice, run over 10 times, and witness to a half-dozen gunfights that ended with automobiles exploding. What are the police doing to stop all this?"

Since the surge in crime, which began on April 28 at midnight, more than 830,000 civilians have been murdered—nearly one-tenth of Liberty City's total population. In addition, 35,000 vehicles have been reported stolen, many of which were then driven illegally over sidewalks and pedestrian walkways before plunging into the nearby Humboldt River. And according to startling figures released by local community action group Citizens for a Safer City, drug trafficking has become rampant and prostitution has increased by 800 percent.

"I was shot 14 times on my way to work today, including twice by police," said one Algonquin-area resident. "That is unacceptable."

Many blame the LCPD directly for the increase in criminal activity, citing the department's lax procedure for arresting criminals, which involves taking 10 percent of the suspect's money, confiscating his weapons, and simply releasing him from custody later that day. Outraged citizens say this is not enough, especially in a city where assault rifles can be found on factory roofs and grenade caches are located under the globe at the old World's Fair site.

"The police just let them go, and 20 minutes later they're shooting at the very same criminals from helicopters," veteran crime reporter Mike Whiteley said. "That is not proper law enforcement. We may be seeing a return to the bad old days of 2002, when the police, the FIB, and even Army tank battalions would leave countless bodies on the streets while attempting to capture just one man on some sort of joyful mass-destruction spree."

Perhaps even more alarming, city records indicate that more than 75 percent of perpetrators in mass-murder or vehicular-manslaughter cases escape, usually by simple methods such as driving into a car-repainting facility. Criminals have even eluded pursuit by walking into their apartment and going to bed for six hours, after which the search has been called off.

However, one LCPD official, who wished to remain anonymous, blamed the recent crime wave on the police department's lack of proper equipment.

"We are only equipped to pursue a suspect within a small radius on a very basic half-centimeter radar screen," the officer said. "If we were allowed to seek criminals who escaped this radius for more than 15 seconds, our results would improve dramatically."

"And to those who say the LCPD is too quick to resort to deadly force, remember that almost 850,000 police officers, FIB agents, and N.O.O.S.E. [National Office of Security Enforcement] team members have died in the line of duty in the past month," he added.

Nonetheless, residents say that their confidence in the Liberty City police force—low in the best of times—has eroded almost completely.

"I was buying a hot dog from a street vendor in Hove Beach yesterday when I saw someone run a red light, barrel down the sidewalk, careen into a garbage truck, exit his vehicle, steal a nearby convertible, and drive away," one Broker resident reported. "A nearby police car didn't even react. But when the car behind him nicked his fender, the officer shot the driver through the windshield and walked away."

"That is not the kind of law enforcement we want for our community," he added.

Most admit that the problem is not a lack of police presence, as the LCPD currently operates 15 different police stations throughout the city's four boroughs, and there is a seemingly infinite number of officers on duty at all times to respond to reported crimes. However, citizens say the officers' "shoot-first" mentality and willingness to accept bribes only contributes to the city's widespread violence and corruption.

"It's almost as if the cops in this town are as much an adversarial faction as the criminals," said public defender Kiki Jenkins, who is rumored to be instrumental in recent incidents of police being inexplicably pulled from chases and criminal pursuit. "Sure, we have excellent radio stations and an incredible range of things to see and do here. But if I were younger, I'd move to Mario World in a second."